The Emotional Health Academy (EHA) Support Service

Support for families

The EHA team offers support with low to moderate mental health issues and works one-to-one with young people, as well as offering group sessions for parents and carers.

Children, young people and their families access our services through a recommendation from the Emotional Health Triage Service.

Each case referred to us by triage is then assessed at an appointment with a Primary Mental Health Worker (PMHW). This assessment usually involves both the child or young person and a parent or carer.

The PMHW will then recommend:

a referral for support by the EHA (one-to-one or group sessions)
signposting or referral to more appropriate, alternative support

The EHA support services are provided by Primary Mental Health Workers using a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) approach.

What is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)?

CBT is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. It aims to help you deal with overwhelming problems in a more positive way by breaking them down into smaller parts.

CBT sessions will show you how these negative patterns can be changed to improve the way you feel. CBT focuses on current problems rather than issues from the past. It looks for practical ways to improve your state of mind on a daily basis.

Group sessions for parents and carers

The EHA team offers group sessions for parents and carers to help them better understand and support their child.

Overcoming Programme

The aim of this guided self-help programme is to teach parents cognitive behavioural strategies that they can use with their child to overcome worries and anxiety.

The course is based on the book 'Helping Your Child with Fears and Worries 2nd Edition: A self-help guide for parents' (Creswell and Willets 2019).

Over the course of four weeks, the group will work with a facilitator to learn more about their child's anxiety and how they can help their child to overcome their fears and worries.

Overcoming Programme for ASC

We also run a specialist Overcoming Programme which has been differentiated for parents of children with autism who are struggling with anxiety.

Schools support - traded service

Emotional Health Workers from the EHA also work in schools to support children with a wide range of issues, in one-to-one sessions, small groups or full classes. We also provide services for parents and staff.

This is a paid service which schools can opt to purchase. See our traded services page for more information about what we offer for schools.